Climate: SOS for italian productions

Italy doesn’t want to become the Country of papayas. However, the climate has been hardly affecting with astounding drops all cultivations: according to data released by Italian professional organization Coldiretti, olive oil production has decreased by 17%, pear -7%, kiwifruit -10%, citrus fruit - 14%.
“The long dry season going on since autumn 2006 throughout last spring has damaged our domestic cultivations - declared Rolando Manfredini, quality manager at Coldiretti -most of all in the river Po area (north-central Italy), where a serious infrastructural deficiency must be solved out. 60-65% of the agro-food industry relies on that”.
“Southern regions - Manfredini continues - have more structures for water gathering while dams along Po river seem now to be insufficient”. It is necessary, according to Coldiretti spokesperson, to modernize the old-fashioned irrigation -network in order to face the global warming, if this - as experts think - , will last for long”. It is furthermore necessary political initiative to favour an accord on water management among the various company users, the expert continues.
All the Italian territory has been suffering for lack of rain since many months, and this - as well as the winter cold - has caused the crisis of the Country’s most typical cultivations, most of all grain and olive. According to statistical institute ISMEA, the average reduction on fields has been by 4.4%